Magic, Spells, And Fairy Tales
by PaigeTurner91
Summary: When a girl opens a magical book without a title in a strange bookshop run buy the enigmatic Grimm Brothers, it transports her to a fairytale world inhabited by a certain green ogre...
1. Prologue: The Book

Magic, Spells, and Fairy-Tales

A Shrek-self insert fanfic by Cacaxa

**Author's Note: This is my first real fanfic, so please bear with me!**

Prologue: The Book

Long ago (or rather, once upon a time), there were 2 brothers, by the names of Jacob and William Grimm. They grew up immersed in fairy tales and reading books, and so, when they grew up, they decided to gather as many fairy-tales and stories as possible. Jacob, the older of the 2, would collect the information and write the stories, and William, the younger, and being a great artist, would draw the illustrations. Through this method, they collected thousands of stories. They eventually compiled the stories in an enormous library; called Grimm's Book Emporium, and all the people in the land came to see them. But although they were happy, they wished that somehow they could live within their stories, instead of just writing them down.

One night, while rain ran down in sheets outside the library, an old beggar woman came to their door. She asked for shelter from the storm, and, being the good, compassionate people they were, allowed her inside. She transformed into a beautiful Enchantress, and for their hospitality and kind hearts, she granted them their wish. She enchanted all the books so that anyone who opened one would be transported into the book's pages, and become a character within the story. The only drawback was that the person couldn't leave until the story was finished.

She then created another book, one that had no title. She told them that no one would ever be able to enter it and finish it, save one girl. The enchantress did not tell them the name of this girl or say anything else about her, but she did give them a clue:

" The girl whose has a golden heart

Will enter the story and take a part

She's not like the others, and has no fear

An ogre and donkey will become her friends dear."

She then enchanted them so that they would be able to live long enough to find the girl and get her to enter the book. And then the enchantress disappeared.

Years passed, and the times changed from 1781 to 2007. They had begun to lose hope, as no one of the enchantress's description ever came inside. But little did they know that the girl they needed was right around the corner...


	2. The Girl Called Worm

_Author's Note: Hey there! I know it's been a long time, but I'm working on this story again! Here's the next installment of "Magic, Spells, and Fairy Tales!"_

Chapter 1: The Girl called "Worm"

The town of Oakdale was not large, nor was it famous for anything in particular. It sat on the edge of a river-a scenic little view, but was still average, to say the least.

But in the center of Town Square a very strange and queer bookstore had opened up (and appeared) only 2 weeks before. The townspeople, being on the lookout for any interesting gossip, began talking fervently and openly about this new addition to their surroundings, as well as the two men that were supposedly inside running the place that no one ever saw…

_"Did you see anyone in there?" an older woman (one of the major gossipers of the town) had asked her husband, who'd dared to venture to peer in the windows of the place._

_"Not sure. But it's strange. It's like the place got here like…like…"_

_"Like _what_?" his wife had pressed, not one to be left hanging when there was gossip to be had._

_" Like…_magic_."_

* * *

Indeed, it did seem like magic. The store itself- with its whitewashed exterior and brown, large old-fashioned windows, and overall design-looked like something out of a fairy-tale.

Inside, out of one of these windows, behind heavy curtains, a young man-not even out of his twenties- stared out at the world outside. He looked like a strange combination of old and new: a pair of blue jeans and shoes, and an old peasant shirt.

"When will we find her, Jacob?" he asked, addressing another figure standing behind him.

The other figure came up to him and put a consoling hand on his shoulder:

"When the time is right, William. We just need to wait…"

"I'm tired of waiting, Jacob!" William cried, moving away from the window. "We've been searching the world for over 200 years, moving all the time, saw hundreds of girls, and yet we still haven't found the girl the enchantress told us of! How much more waiting do we have to do?"

Before Jacob could reply, a loud young woman's voice could be heard outside…

"Give me back my book, you _cretin_!"

Quickly, the two brothers looked outside at the commotion…

* * *

A short young woman, no older then eighteen, was coming down the sidewalk, chasing an older, thug-like boy carrying a rather large book. Both parties seemed to be at the end of their endurance, and eventually stopped right in front of the shop itself.

Panting heavily, she confronted her antagonist. .

"Give me back the book, Curtis!" she protested, attempting to grab the book out of his grasp.

"Make me, Worm! You couldn't do it if you tried!" he snickered, still keeping the book out of her reach.

"I _mean_ it, Curtis!" she continued, keeping up her valiant efforts to reclaim the book. At this, he seemed to relent.

"Fine then." He said, and seemed to hand it over- but instead threw it over his head, causing it to land into a nearby trashcan. In fury, she raised her voice.

"WHY DID YOU _DO_ THAT?" she cried.

Curtis replied nonchalantly. "Because, Worm, that's where all books and nerds belong-in the trash."

With a callous laugh, he left, leaving the girl standing there alone.

Heaving a sad sigh, she went to the trashcan and pulled out the book, covered in banana peels and stale used gum.

"Boys…" she said quietly, wiping off the book and attempting to make it good as new again. And as she did so, the brothers could see something shining on its cover:

_A golden heart._

The Grimm brothers, unseen, quickly and quietly, moved from their position at the window to go outside and meet this potential candidate for the book the enchantress had trusted them with.

" Why does Curtis _always_ pick on _me_?" she was saying to herself. "I never did anything to _him_."

As she turned to go, the brothers appeared.


	3. The Bookstore

_Author's note: Well, here's the next chapter:_

_

* * *

_

Chapter 2: The Brothers Grimm

"Aah!!" she cried in shock, and gave a slight start at the sudden appearance of these two men.

"Hello there, miss." Jacob said politely, and went to her hand.

Now that they were outside, they had a much better view of her. She was simply dressed in a green t-shirt, blue scarf, blue jeans, and black and white striped sneakers. Her hair was a deep red that was easily seen in the sunlight, and wore a pair of glasses that sat in front of her green eyes.

"Well…hello," the girl said quietly, giving Jacob her hand. "…But who are you people?" she said cautiously, but ready to move if there was any sign of trouble.

"Pardon my rudeness: I'm Jacob, and this," he motioned to his brother, "is my younger brother William."

The girl shook both of their hands. "Nice to meet you, then. My name's Gillian," she said, "But most people call me 'Gill'.

Jacob continued on. "We couldn't help but notice the commotion between you and that ruffian outside."

Gillian gave a slight jolt at this. "You heard all that?" she asked. "It's not that big a deal," she continued, trying to push her hair behind her ears. "He's just some moron that wants to rile me up by calling me names."

"Why did he call you 'Worm,' of all things?" William interjected.

At this, she averted her gaze and grew quiet. "Well, it's because I love books-especially fairy tales-short for bookworm, you know."

She looked at her book (a copy of "Grimm's Fairy Tales" still messed up from its journey into the garbage) and sighed.

"And now my book's ruined…"

The brothers saw their opportunity.

"I think we have another copy of that book inside our bookstore," William volunteered. "We're right outside it, in fact. We could help you find another one."

Gillian's interest perked. "You own a bookstore? Well, I think I have some time…"

And with that, she followed them inside:

* * *

Upon entering, the girl was even further amazed:

Wow, she thought to herself.

From the outside, the shop looked small, but for some unexplained reason, the inside was larger then the outside. A huge wooden spiral staircase dominated the view, almost like a church, while books were stacked on every bookshelf. Many medieval and fairy-tale things-swords, shields with coats of arms, small models of dragons, intricate tapestries-were hanging on walls or on shelves and desks scattered about. A strange smell, like incense, pervaded the entire place.

"You built this place?" she asked, turning in a circle to see it all.

"Yes, we did." Jacob answered, working his way toward to the books. "Took us a while, but we've collected every single thing we have here with our own hands."

"Really?" she asked, following him eagerly down the shelves. "That's _amazing_!"

"Yes, it is," William interjected, "considering some of these are first editions- over 100 years old."

"Wow!" you guys must really have connections!" Gillian laughed, and they eventually stopped where the books began.

"I think it's back here." Jacob said. "Just look around, you should find it."

Gillian thanked them, and proceeded to search.

* * *

She searched for over two hours, through thousands of books-"_Gilliver's Travels_", " but was having no luck. She approached the main desk near the front of the store, a small frown on her face.

"It's not here." She said, and turned to leave. William came up to her.

"But...but..."

"It's ok," Gillian said. "It's not that big a deal. I can find it at some other place…"

"What he means to say," Jacob quickly jumped in, "is that we have a special edition that we keep in the back. It's not the prettiest, but it's just the same."

"Well…ok then." She said hesitantly.

Jacob led her to the back, coming to an old, engraved door. Opening it, he pulled out an old, worn-looking storybook. 


End file.
